Barcelona have secured a significant legal victory off the pitch this week.
According to Mundo Deportivo, the court has officially notified the club of the dismissal of a high-profile lawsuit filed by FIFA agent Isaac Tutumlu.
The litigation centered on alleged unpaid commissions related to the transfer of Jules Kounde from Sevilla in the summer of 2022.
The €3 million dispute
The dispute began when Tutumlu sued the Catalan giants for approximately €3 million, a figure representing roughly 6% of the defender’s €50 million transfer fee.
The agent claimed he had been personally commissioned by President Joan Laporta to act as an intermediary,
In this way, he tried leveraging his strong relationship with Sevilla’s then-sporting director, Monchi, to steer Kounde toward the Camp Nou and away from a competing offer from Chelsea.
Jules Koundé of FC Barcelona
Barcelona have received legal victory over Kounde case. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Throughout the proceedings, Barcelona maintained a firm and consistent defence: they had never officially commissioned any services from Tutumlu for this specific operation.
While the agent provided WhatsApp messages and records of meetings with former director Mateu Alemany and coach Xavi Hernandez as evidence of his involvement, the club argued that these did not constitute a formal mandate for intermediation.
Ultimately, Judge Yolanda Lucia Arrieta of the Civil Section of the Court of First Instance of Barcelona ruled in favour of the club.
Not only was Tutumlu’s claim for the €3 million commission dismissed in its entirety, but the judge also ordered the agent to pay the legal costs associated with the trial.
Kounde, meanwhile, is currently nursing from his injury. He was expected to be ruled out for about a month after picking up a recent knock.